Trustees

Of Malaysian Chinese origin and living in the UK since 1970, to describe Mei Sim as a high achiever would not do her justice. Alongside her work as the Founder and Principal of LaiPeters & Co, Chartered Accountants , Mei holds and has held several Board appointments in the Public, Private and Not for Profit and Charity sectors.

She is also very active in a number of UK and international business groups including running IoD City since 1991 and chairing its China Interest group, serving as Honorary Treasurer and Executive member of the influential 48 Group Club and serving as the Finance Director of Arab international Women's Forum. Mei Sim is also a Founder Charter member of PAWA ( Pan Asian Women's Association )

Sonny Leong is the Chair of Chinese for Labour and a member of the Development Board of Labour Party 1000 Club, and also sits on the Executive Committee of BAME labour He is Executive Chairman of the Academy for Parliamentary & Policy Studies and Civil Service College, both providing tailored made training solutions to the public and private sectors.

He is Deputy Chairman of FutureFirst, a social enterprise company working to increase social mobility by building alumni communities around state schools to inspire and inform young people about their futures. He is also a director of Left Foot Forward, a political blog for progressives, providing evidence-based analysis on British politics, policy, and current affairs.

Katy co-founded the Islington Chinese Association in 1986, the only Chinese voluntary organisation in England that has received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services. Katy is committed in helping her community to integrate into mainstream society through engaging in local and national politics and taking an active role in public life.

She is also one of the founders of Chinese for Labour to promote interest of Chinese people in the Labour Party. Amongst her voluntary roles, Katy served as a Trustee in different organisations including the MuLan Theatre Group, the Middlesex University Chinese Medicine Programme Bursary Committee, Chinese in Britain Forum, London Chinese Community Network, London Chinese Healthy Living Centre as well as being a Non-Executive Director with the Islington Primary Care Trust.

MeeLing received an OBE in 2007 for services to the Chinese community. She is an Honorary Fellow of the 48 Group Club and received an Honorary Fellowship from University of London, Goldsmith's College in 2005. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Science in 2010 from London South Bank University for services to healthcare.

She is currently an Independent Governor on the Board of London South Bank University and a Non-Executive Board member of Habinteg Housing Association. Meeling was a Labour councillor for Lewisham for 16 years, chairing major committees and was Deputy Leader and is a founder of Chinese for Labour.

Theresa Booth, director of the Chopsticks Club, now celebrating its 20th Anniversary, has a legal background, having trained and practised as a lawyer in London, working for both Hogan Lovells in London and Freshfields in Hong Kong, specializing in Corporate Finance.

She first visited and travelled around China in 1983, and revisited for short periods in both 1985,1988 before living there permanently between 1992-97, where she set up Beijing's first sandwich business, Deng's Deli. She sold the business by way of a management buyout in 1997. When not running the Chopsticks Club works as a legal environmental consultant for China. She has a MSc in Energy, Environmental Technology & Economics.

Luise Schafer is a senior international executive with over 30 years' professional experience of China. A literate and fluent Chinese speaker, completing postgraduate studies in Beijing in 1983, she is a sought-after commentator on China's business environment.

Her early career included positions at American and Japanese technology firms in Beijing, followed by a Consultancy role assisting British companies break into the China market. A stint as a diplomat, (First Secretary, Commercial) at the Embassy in Beijing in the 1990′s allowed Luise to lead on a broad commercial portfolio, building UK-China partnerships across a range of key industries and ministries.

Sharon is a British-born Chinese with a passion for the Chinese language and culture. She has found herself frequently helping the Chinese community through her work, with earlier employment roles in and around London’s China Town, and participation in events such as the annual Dragon Boat Festival.

Sharon is keen to see true equal opportunities for women and men take its form in this 21st century, and help raise the profile of unsung “Mulan” heroines.

She received her MSc. International Business, London South Bank University (99-01); MBA Beijing Institution of Technology (96-99) and Bachelor of Engineering, China North Institution of Technology (80-84).